The installation of a cable in an underground duct or over telephone poles is usually carried out by pulling the cable with a winch. A pulling cable is connected to the cable to be pulled through a pulling eye assembly that includes a device holding or clamping the end of the cable to be installed.
Clamping devices of the type having a component engaging the central strength member of a cable are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4 337 923, issued July 6, 1982, to J. A. Smith, describes a locking apparatus that includes a plurality of set screws which crimp and secure the strength member to the pulling device. However, the devices of such construction present some problems. For example, in the above-referred U.S. patent, a tubular sleeve portion of the device is crimped at a plurality of locations to pressure seal the tube to the cable; this damages the optical fibers which extend between the outer sheath of the cable and the strength member. Furthermore, such clamping arrangement results in permanently affixing the clamping device to the cable; hence, whenever it is required to remove the device from the cable, the cable must be cut and a new clamping device must be installed, again crimping it to the cable.